An eye-opening wine, the 2010 Clos Vougeot will make readers reconsider the elegance and finesse that is possible in this highly variable vineyard. Today it is the wine’s length and pure sensuality that impress most. Sweet red berries, mint and flowers are layered into the silky, textured finish. In 2010, the Clos Vougeot is all class. Anticipated maturity: 2025-2045. Lalou Bize-Leroy is always among the first growers to bottle, as she was once again in 2010. Therefore, I have chosen to present final, in-bottle reviews of the 2010 reds along with the Domaine Leroy and D’Auvenay 2010 whites. All of the wines came in at or near the top of my barrel scores. Thinking back to the day I tasted the 2010s from barrel in a very empty-looking cellar, I am reminded, that, as elsewhere, the already minuscule quantities of these wines was made even smaller by the mercilessly short crop in 2010. Readers who can find the wines should not hesitate. In this vintage, the Leroy wines are deeply marked by terroir. Although I don’t share all of her views, tasting with Lalou Bize-Leroy is always a fascinating experience, as everything she does is informed by the deepest and most total conviction imaginable. There is no more ardent exponent of the most fundamental of all Burgundian values – the concept of terroir – than Lalou Bize-Leroy. Importer: Martine’s Wines. Novato, CA; tel. (415) 883-040

Spicy and reticent, this is packed with red and black fruit, along with mineral notes, allied to a firm structure. More closed than the other 2010s, but this remains long and powerful, if somewhat severe.—Tasted non-blind in Burgundy (January 2015). Best from 2019 through 2040.??–BS??Region: France / Burgundy / Clos de Vougeot Select to Add